It has been more than a week since the Kansas City Chiefs made the surprising decision to trade Pro Bowl quarterback Alex Smith to the Washington Redskins.
Prior to that, there had been much interest around the league with several teams pushing to acquire Smith. One of which was the Denver Broncos, who have a pressing need to address their quarterback situation this offseason. Despite them presenting a lucrative offer in exchange for Smith, the Chiefs decided to turn down the deal in favor of working something out with the Redskins.
According to Mike Klis of 9news, there apparently was never a realistic chance that Smith would have been moved to the Broncos as Chiefs chairman and CEO Clark Hunt has voiced quite clearly that he doesn't want to trade within the division to strengthen a rival team.
“I think it's pretty typical in the NFL not to seek trades within the division,” Hunt explained. “That's pretty standard fare particularly when we're talking about a high-profile player.”
The Chiefs didn't want to have to face their former quarterback at least twice a year and have to deal with constant questions about why things didn't work out. It also would have made things had Smith experienced more success with the Broncos by helping lead them to a division title and possibly contend for the Super Bowl. In essence, there would be no benefit from that scenario for the franchise.
That said, Kansas City was able to move Smith of the division while acquiring a second-round draft pick and cornerback Kendall Fuller in exchange. This also not hands over the reigns to second-year quarterback Patrick Mahomes, but also allows for the team to add to building blocks with Fuller and whatever player they take with the second-round pick.
Ultimately, the Chiefs were able to avoid any additional distractions, and constant questioning of the decision with Smith be traded out of the AFC West. The team can now move ahead with Mahomes under center for the foreseeable future.
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